Samsung has a brand new (but largely the same) Gear VR to go with the Note 7

We've been largely impressed by the Gear VR, Samsung's cut-down, portable, mobile-powered VR headset, and the company has just unveiled a minor upgrade to the headset alongside its new Galaxy Note 7 phablet device.

It's partly for practical reasons: The Note 7 is the first Samsung device to go with USB Type C for its data port, so it won't work with the older VR headsets – but it also gives Samsung and partners Oculus a chance to tweak the overall design.

The new model has a slightly wider 101° field of view and an improved touchpad for better navigation around the virtual worlds you choose to jump into. There's also a new bluish-black finish that looks a little more refined than the white devices of years past (and brings its color scheme a bit more in line with its PC-laden sibling, the Oculus Rift).

There's a USB-C port for connecting controllers and accessories too, so this is very much a future-proofed Gear VR. It also includes a microUSB adapter, should you want to use it with a Note 5 or one of the Galaxy S6 or S7 series phones.

According to the engineers behind it, the Gear VR is now lighter and more comfortable than ever, but we'll have to let you know on that point. We're live at the launch event in New York and will bring you our first impressions of the new kit as soon as we can.

While today's new Gear VR isn't a massive step forward in terms of specs or features, it's bound to tempt a few more people into trying out Samsung's mobile VR kit. Pre-orders are open now in the US for $99.99.